


Slow dancing in the dark

by Naeevin



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Bolin mentioned, Book 3: Change, Drama & Romance, F/F, Kuvira - Freeform, Kuvira’s POV, Kuvopal, Not Canon Compliant - The Legend of Korra, Opal Beifong - Freeform, Suyin Beifong mentioned, This is not what you may expect, What-If, they are both madly in love but
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:35:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26680738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naeevin/pseuds/Naeevin
Summary: Opal’s rage in season 4 towards Kuvira seems fueled by a deeper meaning before fully acknowledging the dictator’s actions.When she finds out her and Baatar Jr. are going to get married, Opal looks visibly destabilized.Undoubtedly something went on between them, maybe a trustworthy friendship betrayed? A potential love destined to fail from the beginning.. a promise unkept?What if..?
Relationships: Kuvira/Opal (Avatar)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 46





	Slow dancing in the dark

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This is a writing exercise i wanted to share with you, changing of style and point of view while working on a long story.  
> A Joji’s “Slow dancing in the dark” cover inspired this experiment, so if you want to hear the song as you read maybe it’ll make it less shitty lol Enjoy (:

This uniform is uncomfortable. It’s getting tighter around my waist and doesn’t let me breath.  
The air in here is steamy, difficult to inhale, like if a weight presses against my chest at every single try.  
The thought of getting out of here is incredibly arousing but to my dismay, this isn’t the right moment.  
Suyin glances at me from afar, like sensing my desire to sneak out, making sure every now and then it doesn’t prevail over duties.  
Duties, this is what it’s all about.

Even now hidden in a shadowy corner. Breathing hardly, watching that feeble silhouette gleam in the white mid light, timidly dancing in the middle of the room and swinging the light flounce dress she is wearing tonight.  
She always has this mesmerizing way to enchant. To make everyone disgustingly happy around her with those bright olive eyes and red blushing cheeks. Nobody can resist her authenticity, fierceness in the most genuine way.. true.. pure.  
Even her boundless tenderness wasn’t tooth aching but unique in all its exquisite overwhelmingness.

That little girl is such a force of nature; itself gifted her one of its elements. It shocked everyone to find out what she could suddenly do.  
Opal has always been an exception among the Beifongs on many levels. The first daughter, a non bender poorly interested in her relatives business and now the very first air-bender in a strict earth-bender bloodline. The shadow of her family’s abilities always pushed her out of place, like if she was a step behind everyone else for being the one of the few who wasn’t lucky enough to master an element. But the granddaughter of the most acclaimed earth and metal-bender of all time has the only power of delicacy among the bluntest.

She, like the green growing between the concrete cracks on the side streets or like a lone colorful gorse brightening a black deserted mountain, knows how to amaze.  
Embracing her non-bending nature up until the harmonic convergence gave her the power of a thousand hurricanes. Now was her time to learn how to master it. Just one night and she’ll be gone.  
Just one night more.

After expressing to Suyin my desire to not be present at this gathering just for once, despite her inviting me, she found a way to force it as a duty. Checking on her until my eyes melt and unfocus.  
Breathe in. I can do this.  
Breathe out.

It was only few days ago Opal came to my place weeping with joy, whirling air between her trembling fingertips. When my hand held hers steady she cried and cried in my arms until falling in a restful sleep while my heart couldn’t stop hammering against her departed lips.  
The day after, running far away from home, she showed me how flowers could fly. It was like the poetry she used to read to me came alive when she laughed in the wind and closed us in a flowery floating circle.  
“i’m not so good at it, i’m sorry” she whispered sadly when they quivered in the air before falling. Opal buried her face in my uniform, hiding from the world, from everyone, before team avatar came in Zaofu to recruit the new air-bender.

Now, like that day, I wish my heart could stop.  
Suyin tossed another glance at me, then at her daughter dancing with a guy from the avatar’s team.

The guy’s smile oddly widened since the first time Opal came into his view.  
Can’t blame him anyway.  
Being immune to her charming beauty wasn’t conceivable, but to say her look is the only reason my heart riots would be reductive. Opal is more than a splendid face, and when she opens up to somebody, pure energy blasts.  
Since we fought for years in our boisterous childhood, I had my chances to see her truer self, being blessed and cursed enough at the same time to step further when everybody else stopped.

That was how that girl became the only one who could dismantle my heart’s steel defenses but as she dances with him, i wish I didn’t have one.

Stabbing my own eyes with a metal blade would be a relief more than hurtful at this point.  
I just want to go home. Saying her goodbye tomorrow afternoon and never let myself being this vulnerable ever again.

It was for the best.

In all these years expressing my feelings has never been an option anyway, and fortunately Opal is mostly naive when it comes to.. us.  
The truth is my guts never have been strong enough to bear something close to a declaration, so whenever my feelings came up my throat they were forcedly swallowed back in my heart.  
It doesn’t matter how it makes me feel. If Opal knew she would be scared or ending up hating me when the realization finally hit.  
I couldn’t do something like this to her..

It’s much better this way, however, now that she is crushing on that guy. My mind doesn’t even bother to give him a name even if, as captain, i had access to all the information needed in Aiwei’s office. So saying my curiosity peaked to stalk him was an euphemism. Opal would usually complain about my ‘addiction to control’ but this isn’t an addiction, this is about safety.

If this was really about control she wouldn’t be slow dancing with him to be honest.  
Opal wouldn’t even be here tonight. She would be with me. End of story.  
But this is reality and i’m just a fool standing in a corner. Waiting for this night to come to an end.

Opal would never reciprocate my feelings but the way her eyes shine whenever looking at me isn’t comparable, not even to the one she is giving now to that guy as he makes her swirl on the dance floor and pulls her closer.  
Her shy laugh echoes in my heart.  
Teeth grinding together.  
I can’t.

The music reverbs and fades in the background.  
My eyes sting and burn.  
Please let it stop, please let it stop, please.  
Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in..  
“Vira” a soft high pitched voice resounds into my mind.  
Are you imagining things now? Open your eyes.

“Vee.. hey” her lips purses in a beautiful smile come into view “I finally found you, where were you?”  
A thud beating loudly inside my chest.  
“I’ve been here the whole time” a gravelly tone comes out my dry mouth.  
Breath out. Straighten your posture, you are a captain.

Opal stays quiet for a bit, playfully staring with shining peridots until propping her palm toward me in a offer “Would you... dance with me?”  
Stay calm “I’m on duty, Opal”  
“Please... just once, we can dance here” she bites her lip “if you don’t want to go there, of course..”  
This is wrong. How could she make me feel like this? She should be dancing with Bolin.. not with me. My eyes narrows at said guy in the middle of the hall, gazing at Opal like if his world just fell into pieces.  
Why is she here talking to me?  
“I can’t“ I repeat as my eyes meet hers again before falling down on those plump lips curving in a pout. Her palm slowly closes in a fragile fist and lowers by the side.  
Spirits..  
“If you want, we can go outside..” I guilty add briefly after, sensing the girl’s dejection. There is something off with her i can’t really explain; she is pale..trembling “are you okay?”

The small girl’s green stare drops on the floor between us “I... yeah..” she whispers hesitantly. Then smiles.

Quickly my hand finally grabs her cold tiny one to get out of there. During the whole walk through the dark hall frame, her butterfly silky touch is so soft it feels like holding the air itself. She makes me forget about Suyin’s inquiring stare stabbing our backs.

When we get outside, the temperature gap hit us pleasantly, making breathing easier.  
Maybe the fresh air, maybe Opal, or simply not being controlled every single second gave an ease to all that distress stored.  
The music leaking from the building now comes out muffled along cricket chants, livening up the fresh cut garden.  
“Vee..” The soft voice calls suddenly, drawing my attention  
“what’s wrong?” I ask, sneaking a look back behind my shoulder but something warm wraps around my waist, causing us to stop mid tracks.  
“I’m scared...” her shaky mumble heats my back, stiffening at the contact.

Breathe out.. just.. look up at the sky.  
People use to say when you meet the love of your life, time stops. But then everything goes double speed to catch up even when you only want it to stop again, just to live in that moment for a while longer.  
The small girl’s tears stain on the uniform as my voice tries to remain steady “you’ll be doing great”  
“Will you write me letters?” Her voice makes me shiver inside “No. I don’t think i’ll have time”

“Well i will. I’ll find the time to write you anytime i can because.. I don’t know how to do it without you...” the small girl replies shifting to face me.  
Still wrapped into the embrace, she gazes at me with tears in her green diamonds, ready to crash on the floor and explode like bombs in a battlefield.

“It scares me to be so far away, i’m scared i’ll miss you too much” her chin trembles as the feeble tone crinkles to almost fading in the dark. A tear heavily traces down a line on her cheek.  
“You won’t miss me. Once you’ll start your training you will only focus on that, on making friends.. on falling in love with.. —“I..” she cuts, shaking her head “Vee..”  
“You won’t even think about me, trust me. I’ll be busy with a new Earth Kingdom issue that came out recently and..”

“Will you miss me..?” she asks, nervously biting her plump bottom lip.  
A silent gasp lowers my chest where a raging heart threatens to rip the skin off and get out. Her brilliant stare became so intense it forced me to look away. Too painful to hold any longer.  
Nobody ever succeeded on taking me aback but Opal does it every single time with breathtaking simplicity.

It’s frightening.

Even now, waiting desperately for an answer she already acknowledges but still needs to hear.  
I can’t..  
Deep breath. Fists clenching.  
“I know you want to protect me but,” goosebumps rose up at the contact of her cold hand on my cheek “I know you are scared too. Please stop being so strong for the both of us for a moment.” Opal whispers so close her breath caresses warmly on my lips, her honeyed scent takes over my senses and I forget for a second who i am.

“Opal..” I breathe out placing my forehead on her messy bang. The close up of those peridot pools makes my heart race with fury before skipping a beat as she talks again “just please, tell me you won’t forget about me.. promise you’ll wait for me” my hands wander immediately to hold her face. Tight, desperately.  
“Opal ” tears occlude my throat forming a knot “i would never forget about you. This is not possible”

  
“Promise.” she mumbles softly.

“I promise”  
I promise..  
I promise..  
_I love you._

“I’ll miss you terribly.” I utter with a silent painful sigh. Cautiously shifting closer, our breath mixes together in heavy pants.  
Lips trembles at her fingertips skimming full of tenderness.  
She leans infinitely closer “Kuvira i l..”-Opaaal!” A voice calls out from a distance.  
Opal shudders and gasps profoundly. Her back stiffens, peridots widen under my gaze.  
Please let it last just a little more...

Far steps gets louder “Go. I’ll stay here a bit longer.” I apprise with a withdraw, which she chose to follow nonetheless “Vira”  
Her soothing caress heals and destroys my heart in the same exact, tremendous way.  
Step back, turn away “Go..” i implore before bursting into a secret, shameful weep.  
Opal doesn’t move, but stays only to hold me in her arms again and whisper on my back “Please wait for me”

Then her arms untangle.  
Her light gait fades as she leaves, to fuse with the dancehall muffled music.  
The girl’s joyful voice sparkles far away.

I’ll always will.


End file.
